Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Humboldt grades D− overall, ranked 160th of 175 in Tennessee, mostly because of schools and health. Its schools rank behind 98% of the state's. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 97% of the country. One bright spot: homes are within reach, about $160K for a typical one, or 2.6 years of the Jackson metro’s $61K median household income. Only 19 of Tennessee’s 292 towns score lower on hazard risk. Humboldt has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Senter-Rooks House and Dodson House. Humboldt's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 87% of U.S. towns.
Where Humboldt beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Senter-Rooks House| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| East Elementary School | 2–6 | 404 |
| Stigall Primary School | PK–1 | 232 |
| Humboldt Junior/Senior High School | 7–12 | 408 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Humboldt is from typical.
Its grades run from A for cost of living (better than 85% of comparable towns) to D− for schools (better than 2%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,572 in 1880, 7,874 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 2 maps from 1959 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Humboldt, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Humboldt.
Humboldt fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Tennessee (mostly earthquakes).
Its public schools are run by the Humboldt City Schools. Of its 3 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. The largest public high school is Humboldt Junior/Senior High School, with 408 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–6 | Grades 2–6 | 404 | D |
| Humboldt Junior/Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 408 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
Humboldt: just over one in ten adults binge drink, where Tennessee’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 16%. Among 176 Tennessee towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Humboldt. 26% of Humboldt adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Humboldt | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 14% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 50% | 41% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 16% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 24% | 19% |
| What stands out | Humboldt | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 10.5% | 14.6% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.4% | 76.2% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 5.9% | 3.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 2.6 years of the Jackson metro’s $61K median household income, the typical home (about $160K) costs less against local pay than in 98% of Tennessee towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
Humboldt’s typical rent stands at $742 a month, below both the Tennessee town median ($950 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Among households locally, 55% own their home. The typical Humboldt home is worth about $160,000, up 3% in a year, 52% below the Tennessee typical home. On the market in the town: a median 14 days to sell.
| Humboldt | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 66% | 73% |
| Median rent | $742 a month | $950 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 96% of Tennessee towns, with expected losses of about $443 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Federal aid has come to Humboldt households in 9 declared disasters; the latest was in 2026. In Humboldt, the FEMA risk score is 81 of 100. Flood insurance has paid out on 43 claims here since 1979. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 61% come from earthquakes and 14% from tornadoes.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 32.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 63% of Tennessee’s graded towns.
In Humboldt, the level of violent crime is 3.2 per 1,000 residents. The town’s property offense rate stands at 14.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Humboldt | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.2 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.4 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.8 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in Humboldt: 4, covering 30 acres. Its trail density comes in at 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Humboldt | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Old Baseball Field Park | 0.4 mi | 14 |
| 2. Viking Park | 0.4 mi | 6 |
| 3. Bailey Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Humboldt has about as many jobs (3,540) as working residents, but only 534 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 17.5 minutes, against 25.7 across Tennessee.
For working residents in Humboldt, the share who work locally is 18%. This Tennessee town had 3,540 jobs in 2023, down 301 from 2013. Also worth knowing: the median household income here is $53,000. The top destinations are Jackson (28%), Union City (6%) and Milan (5%).
| Humboldt | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $61,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 14% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
3 within 15 miles of the center of Humboldt
About 6 of every 100 Humboldt residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee.
5 places in Humboldt on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Humboldt.
City in Tennessee, United States
Humboldt is a city in Gibson and Madison counties, Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, Humboldt had a population of 7,874. It is the principal city of and is included in the Humboldt, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Jackson–Henderson–Humboldt, Tennessee Metropolitan Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Humboldt.
Three Way has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Three Way reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Humboldt with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Humboldt grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #160 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades D− for health, C− for safety and D− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
10 notable people were born here, including Doug Atkins and Trey Smith.
